Accomplishments: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Ashkan Salamat (Physics and Astronomy), Paul Forster, Frederic Poineau, and Keith Lawler (all Chemistry and Biochemistry) were awarded a $449,901 research grant from the National Science Foundation for "Expanding Known Binary Technetium Nitrides and Sulfides: A Computationally-Led Synthesis Program." Technetium is a radioactive element…
MaryKay Orgill and Sarah York (both Chemistry and Biochemistry) wrote a research article that was published in the Journal of Chemical Education and also was selected to be featured in American Chemical Society (ACS) Editors' Choice. The selection of these articles is based on recommendations by the scientific editors of ACS journals…
Mary Blankenship (Chemistry, Economics, and Brookings Mountain West) recently co-authored a brief featured on the Brookings Institution blog, the Brown Center Chalkboard. The piece discusses the shortage of STEM teachers and the wage penalties teachers face in STEM. The piece originally was published June 17. She is an undergraduate…
Balakrishnan Naduvalath (Chemistry & Biochemistry) is part a research team that received the coveted Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) award from the Department of Defense, Army Research Office. The interdisciplinary team from multiple institutions (Harvard; Stanford; University of Colorado Boulder;…
Sajjad Ahmad (Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction) and Jun Yong Kang (Chemistry) recently were selected for the Barrick Scholar Awards, which recognize UNLV faculty members who have produced a significant amount of high-quality, interdisciplinary research or creative output recognized by scholars and journals within and…
Artem V. Gelis (Chemistry and Biochemistry) has been awarded a U.S. patent granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the technology, "Molybdenum Recovery from Aqueous Nitric Acid Solution by Solvent Extraction." The invention provides a method for extracting transition metals, the method comprising supplying a feedstream…
Jun Yong Kang (Chemistry and Biochemistry) has been selected as one of the Thieme Chemistry Journals Awardees for 2019. The Thieme Chemistry Journals Award is presented every year to up-and-coming researchers worldwide who are in the early stages of their independent academic career as assistant or junior professors. The awardees…
Jun Kang (Chemistry and Biochemistry) has been awarded a patent granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the invention “Methods and Compositions for Substituted Alpha-Aminophosphonate Analogues.” This synthetic method would enable a rapid synthesis of bioactive phosphorus-containing compounds and pharmaceuticals under…
Mary Blankenship (Sciences and Brookings Institute) was featured as a guest columnist in the Las Vegas Sun for her opinion editorial, "Lincoln Memorial Reminds Us Who We Are and Can Still Be."  She is a student with a double major in chemistry and math as well as a Brookings public policy minor. 
Hui Zhang (Chemistry and Biochemistry) was awarded a new National Institutes of Health R15 grant for $437,202 titled "Regulation of Stem Cell Protein Stability by Novel Ubiquitin Ligases". This grant earned excellent scores to support research in embryonic stem cells. 
Artem V. Gelis (Chemistry and Biochemistry) has been awarded a U.S. patent granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the technology, "Immobilization of Organic Radioactive and Non-radioactive Liquid Waste in a Composite Matrix." A method for immobilizing liquid radioactive waste is provided, the method having the steps of mixing…
Jun Yong Kang (Chemistry and Biochemistry) and his research team (Hai Huang and Jeffery Ash) published a research article, "Tf2O-Promoted Activating Strategy of Phosphate Analogues: Synthesis of Mixed Phosphates and Phosphinate," in Organic Letters. This research reports an efficient, mild synthetic method of phosphates and mixed phosphonates.…